April 9, 2012WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? By: Barbara Kerley Illustraed by: Ed Fotheringham
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kerley, Barbara. 2008. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 9780439922319
2. SUMMARY OF PLOT: Alice Lee Roosevelt was hungry to go places, meet people, and do things which troubled her father, Theodore Roosevelt. Her behavior at times was seen as outrageous and inappropriate for being a congressman's and later, president's daughter. Alice eventually grew up and experienced what life had to offer from marriage to a celebrity status quo in the world of politics. However, she never lost her upbeat personality and eventually became one of Theodore's most trusted political advisers.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Reviewers agree Kerley depicts Alice Roosevelt's life in the biography WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? in a bright and lively way. Other biographies receive the same warm welcome by reviewers making Kerley a one of a kind author! She offers special thanks and cites contributors to the book in the Author's Note. Facts about Alice's life were given throughout the book including a brief history into the details surrounding the story at the end. The illustrator and author coordinate brilliantly from beginning to end. There is a logical sequence of events that happens in Alice's life beginning with her mother dying to getting married and becoming a wife of a congressman. The cover is attractive and inviting using a question as a title and jumps out to the reader as a story filled with adventure. The style of this book was almost ambidextrous switching from smaller and larger print, correlating with the words used. Signifying what words are meant to jump out at you and when a smaller tone is in order. The author's passion for life almost shines through Alice's upbeat personality making this biography an interesting story with plenty of enthusiasm.
4. AWARDS WON: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
American Library Association Notable Books for Children
Beehive Children's Informational Book Award
Volunteer State Book Award
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year
Garden State Children's Book Awards
Review Excerpt(s): "Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive
and exuberant as she was.... Kerley's text has the same rambunctious
spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line.... The
large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for
spectacular art."--- Review from Booklist
5. CONNECTIONS: Teachers can have fun with their students as they learn about Alice's life. Students can write their own biography by starting with a member of their family. Help them out by giving them tips such as gathering up all the facts, conduct interviews, and make sure you have all the facts straight such as dates and places. A simple, yet fun idea is using finger paints in the three primary colors to make a color that represents you. Then paint a picture of yourself wearing a gown or suite of your color. This idea comes from the fact that Alice was so popular a specific shade of blue was named after her called Alice Blue.
Related Books: LADY LIBERTY: A BIOGRAPHY By: Doreen Rappaport
A RIVER OF WORDS: THE STORY OF WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAM
By: Jen Bryant
BECOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY By: Carole Boston Weatherford
April 8, 2012DESTINATION SPACE By: Seymour Simon
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Simon, Seymour. 2002. DESTINATION SPACE. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0688162908
2. SUMMARY OF PLOT: Simon explains discoveries made by the Hubble Space Telescope that was launched into space since 1991. Each page contains stunning illustrations with vivid descriptions taken by the HST on distant galaxies and far edges of the universe.
3.CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Many reviewers rave at how breathtaking and informative Simon's collection of science books are including DESTINATION SPACE. His significant educational background promptly follows him in this field where he is respectfully looked upon as a writer and a teacher. Although this book does not contain a bibliography, he does give photo credits to several different companies such as NASA. Throughout the book facts are clearly stated with explanations of possible theories developed in this field. Space holds a lot of mysteries and Simon creatively explains what the HST has discovered while it has been launched. The illustrations are photos taken by the telescope while orbiting Earth and are correctly explained by the text. The layout is logical with a clear sequence to the information; however, there are no reference aids included. A table of contents or clearer subheadings would have been beneficial for a reader who may want to read about a specific planet or different topics relating to space. The appearance of DESTINATION SPACE catches one's eye as the reader gazes at actual photographs of space. It is designed to communicate the mysterious universe that is not seen here on Earth. Simon makes such a topic as this come alive as he encourages curiosity and wonder into the reader. He always seems to have thorough information on every topic he writes about because his passion for being an educator has never stopped.
4. AWARDS WON: Mom's Choice Awards
Seymour Simon has won many other awards: American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Lifetime Achievement Award, New York State Knickerboker Award, Hope S. Dean Memorial Award, The Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award, The Jeremiah Ludington Award, The Empire State Award, and The Lifetime Achievement Award.
Review Excerpt(s): "Spectacular photographs taken during the past decade by the Hubble Space Telescope make this a visually stunning introduction to outer space. Simon writes with unusual clarity about the photographs and their subjects, drawing comparisons that will help readers begin to understand concepts such as light-years, black holes and supernovas. The birth of stars, a butterfly nebula and colliding galaxies provide some of the most beautiful shots, which are enhanced by the book's elegant design."--- Review from Book Magazine
5. CONNECTIONS: There are activities and questions to be asked along with this book. As an introductory activity, ask the students where they would go if they could travel anywhere in space? Why? Who would they take along? Then, show the close-up photo of Saturn and read the accompanying text aloud. Explain that this photo, and most of the other photos in this book were taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. The HST is about the size of a school bus and orbits thousands of miles above Earth. It orbits Earth about every hour and a half, traveling from New York to California in about ten seconds. If possible use one of the tracking programs online to see where the Hubble telescope is right now, http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/where.a.s_hubble_now/ . An activity to do after reading would be "The History of the Hubble." Explain how the HST has been orbiting the Earth since 1990 and sees into space ten times more clearly than the best telescope on Earth. Students can then use their creativity to write and illustrate their own book on how the Hubble telescope got up into space, how it works, and what happens when it needs repairs. A great resource is the Seymour Simon website, http://www.seymoursimon.com/.
Related Books: STARS By: Seymour Simon
THE UNIVERSE By: Seymour Simon
COMETS, METEORS, AND ASTEROIDS By: Seymour Simon
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM By: Seymour Simon
DESTINATION MARS By: Seymour Simon
THE BRAIN: OUR NERVOUS SYSTEM By: Seymour Simon
April 8, 2012
KAKAPO RESCUE: SAVING THE WORLD'S STRANGEST PARROT Text by: Sy Montgomery Photographs by: Nic Bishop
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Montgomery, Sy. 2010. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. ISBN 9780618494170
2. SUMMARY OF PLOT: Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop travel to a remote island off the coast of New Zealand to work with a group of scientists who are trying to save kakapo parrots which are nearly extinct. They spent ten days experiencing what these scientist go through and learning the history of kakapo parrots and New Zealand.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: This book sticks close to the accurate description of the life of a kakapo parrot living on Codfish Island. Several reviews comment on Sy Montgomery's books with remarks of how great and intriguing her work is to young readers. Montgomery is known for spending a lot of time in the field with animals in their natural habitat, which makes her books even more believable. In this book specifically, she provides a bibliography relating to different subjects such as the history of kakapo and the land of New Zealand. Knowing this history derived from reliable sources shows that stereotypes were avoided during the making of this book. During the ten-day expedition Montgomery was clearly able to differentiate fact from theory as she learned about the kakapo parrots. The reader is able to see several pictures of the parrots and what the scientist were doing with the description in the text. Captions are also given with each picture allowing understanding for different aspects of this journey such as scenery or different creatures who are native to the land of New Zealand. The organization and layout of the book allows the reader to choose a chapter or specific picture without having to go through the whole book. The logical sequence of the book went from an introduction, history of the parrots and New Zealand, conducting research and giving aide, and finally, a sweet good-bye to a special parrot named Sinbad. Reference aides were given such as subheadings for each chapter, table of contents, and an index located at the back of the book. Children will definitely be attracted to this text as you look upon the large kakapo face on the cover. Illustrations throughout the book complement the text and communicate the subject matter clearly. Montgomery's style is clear and lively as she writes about each conversation she had with her fellow colleagues. She also reveals everyone's passion in trying to restore the kakapo population. The last chapter was used as a method of reflection discussing the importance of this ten-day expedition and saving the kakapo species. The author was able to give factual information while shedding light into what others may deem as priority.
4. AWARDS WON: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
American Library Association Notable Books for Children
Young Hoosier Book Award
Review Excerpt(s): "As usual, Montgomery's delight in her subject is contagious, and throughout her enthusiastic text, she nimbly blends scientific and historical facts with immediate, sensory descriptions of fieldwork. Young readers will be fascinated by the incredible measures that the passionate workers follow to help the new birds hatch, and many will share the team's heartbreak when some chicks die. Bishop's photos of the creatures and their habitat are stunning; an awe-inspiring, closing image of the world's eighty-seventh known Kakapo emerging from its shell captures the miracle of birth, for any species. Like many of the team's previous titles, this offers excellent support for units about animal conservation."--- Review from Booklist
5. CONNECTIONS: Many activities can come from this book and the website http://www.kakaporecovery.org.nz/. As a math activity, students can graph the growth and decline of the kakapo population. Use the website and compare the number of chicks that are born to the number of chicks that survive. With a science unit, students can explore food chains and the ecosystem. Why is it important to preserve the ecosystem and the kakapo? What kind of biome do these birds live in? For other ideas and templates visit this website http://www.scribd.com/doc/30998716/Kakapo-Rescue-Discussion-Guide.
Related Books: LIZARDS By: Nic Bishop
WHY ARE ANIMALS BLUE? By: Melissa Stewart
EVEN AN OSTRICH NEEDS A NEST: WHERE BIRDS BEGIN By: Irene Kelly
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